TITUSVILLE, Fla. – UPDATE: A missing endurance runner was found safe Monday morning in Titusville, two days after he disappeared while running a 100-mile race, police said.
Titusville police said Earl Blewett, 57, was found disoriented around 8:15 a.m. in the woods behind Knights Armament Company in the 700 block of Columbia Boulevard, about a mile from the Enchanted Forest Sanctuary, where the Ancient Oaks 100 Mile Endurance Run was held.
Blewett was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
“We’re happy he’s been found alive. It’s pretty rugged terrain out there,” Titusville police spokeswoman Amy Matthews told News 6 partner Florida Today. “There’s brush, trees, wild animals. And we’re just so happy he’s alive.”
In a news conference Monday afternoon, police and family said Blewett was so disoriented that the man believed he had spent two nights in a hotel room when he was actually sleeping on a bed of sticks.
Investigators added that he was discovered in the woods by a security guard at Knight’s Armament, a firearms manufacturer in Titusville.
No other details about his discovery were immediately released.
**MISSING RUNNER FOUND** Earl Linwood Blewett has been located safe near the 700 block of Columbia Blvd. He was last seen at 9:30 pm on Saturday during an endurance race. @BCFRpio transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. pic.twitter.com/4lnbBsVOF3
— Titusville Fire Dept (@TitusvilleFire) December 20, 2021
ORIGINAL STORY:
Titusville police continue to search for a missing runner who was last seen Saturday night at the finish line of an endurance race.
Police said they are searching for Earl Linwood Blewett, 57, who was last seen around 9:30 p.m. at the finish line of the Ancient Oaks 100 Mile Endurance Run at the Enchanted Forest Sanctuary in Titusville.
[TRENDING: Unsettled weather arrives to kick off Christmas week | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
Race organizer Mike Melton said Blewett flew into Florida alone from Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the race and was supposed to return home the next day.
The race started at 7 a.m. Saturday and ended at 3 p.m. Sunday as runners complete 29 loops that must be completed within 32 hours, Melton said.
Rescue crews used helicopters and drones during Sunday’s search for Blewett.
“A lot of effort has been going into trying to find him and we still don’t know where he is and it’s really heartbreaking,” said Melton, adding that he’s known Blewett for 15 years. “I’m devastated.”
Others joined police in the search.
“We started sending volunteer runners out on the course, which is a 3.46 loop in the park,” Melton said. “It’s heavily wooded and there’s a lot of underbrush in places.”
Blewett was described as a white man, 5 feet, 11 inches tall and 170 pounds, with brown eyes and thinning gray hair.
While running, police said Blewett was wearing a neon greenish-yellow tank top, black shorts, glasses and a black waist pack. He also had a small light with him, according to a news release.
Anyone with information about Blewett’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Titusville Police Department at 321-264-7800.